something about Mongolian vodka

This is a review of Chinggis Khan vodka from Mongolia. I sampled it in Germany in 2017. It’s clear, 40% alcohol, owned by APU Company, and I thought it was the shit (but way too expensive).

So I got this bottle of Chinggis Khan vodka at an airport, and it turned out to be expensive as hell: 56€ for 700ml. This would be excusable for a whiskey, but in terms of vodka prices, it’s off the scale.

Mongolian trademarks

There doesn’t seem to be an official website for Chinggis Khan vodka, at least none that I could find. I thought this was a bit weird for a super luxury vodka brand.

So I kept digging, and I found the website of APU Company. The acronym stands for Absolute. Pure. Unique. This is the company that produces Chinggis Khan vodka. There is a link on their website, but sadly it doesn’t work.

I found an article on Premier Group World talking about how Chinggis Khan vodka was distilled six times and FILTERED CONTINUOUSLY FOR 10 DAYS OVER SILVER, DIAMONDS & BLACK PEARLS. Boom.

Another article on The Drinks Report claimed that Chinggis Khan vodka was aimed at the global travel retail market (i.e. duty-free shops), and that it was then FILTERED FOR OVER 500 HOURS USING CHARCOAL, QUARTZ, DIAMONDS, BLACK PEARLS AND SILVER. Badaboom.

The last thing I found was the trademark document of Chinggis Khan vodka. It had been filed in 2012 and abandoned in 2020.

[online search from April 14th 2022]

So maybe this meant that Chinggis Khan vodka had died, presumably of Corona?

heavy bottles

Back to business, though. We were going to review Chinggis Khan vodka, and we’ve already mentioned how much the price sucked. But what about the bottle design? I loved it. It is big and fat and heavy. Actually it’s so heavy, even the cap seems to have a certain weight. And even when there’s no vodka left in the bottle it’s still heavy. That’s how heavy it is. On the label there’s a dude shooting a bow on a horse. It’s a nice bottle.

Chinggis Khan vodka rules

So how about the vodka itself? Oh, my. It is good! Chinggis Khan, the vodka, is something that Genghis Khan, the man, most likely never was: it’s soft and smooth, almost balmy. It goes down like water, and it tastes almost sweet on the way. A perfect taste if there ever was one.

the complexity

How about the aftertaste, though? Well, it’s definitely there. It’s very mild, though, almost as if this wasn’t a hard liquor at all. It’s complex and subtle, and there’s a sweetish aroma in it. I would have liked it to be a bit more prominent, though.

Anyway, Chinggis Khan vodka could have been one of the best. But it’s just too damn expensive.